The Netherlands transferred gold worth approximately 10 billion dollars that it had deposited in the United States and Canada to Europe, in an operation involving around 100 tonnes. Half was physically transported to the country's secure facilities in Zeist and to the Bank of England, while the other half was sold on North American markets and used to purchase gold in London. After this reallocation, the country now has 18.5% of gold in New York and 18.5% in Ottawa, figures that were previously 31.3% and 19.7% respectively. The Governor of De Nederlandsche Bank, Olaf Sleipjen, explained that the objective was to improve the transactionality of reserves and readiness for severe crises, noting that gold deposited at the Bank of England is the most quickly available in emergency situations.
This movement by the Netherlands has reignited the debate in Europe about the location of gold reserves. In Germany, there had already been significant repatriation between 2013 and 2017, with more than 600 tonnes transferred from New York to within the country, and the topic has been revisited, with the Greens advocating for the repatriation of gold still in the United States. In Italy, approximately 43% of reserves are in the United States and several voices in civil society have called for repatriation. France, for its part, repatriated the gold it had in New York in January 2025, citing technical issues. Together, Germany and Italy have gold in New York worth approximately 250 billion euros.
Distrust of the US administration, Donald Trump's erratic behaviour and the risk of sanctions or freezing of assets, exemplified by the case of Russian assets after the invasion of Ukraine, have fueled these discussions. India repatriated gold from London and Switzerland in 2024, while Venezuela attempted to repatriate gold from the United Kingdom but was prevented by London.
Portugal, which is consistently in the top 20 countries with the largest gold reserves, valued at more than 45 billion euros at the end of 2025, no longer needs to repatriate gold. The last relevant reallocation occurred in 2021, when 3.7 tonnes were transferred from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to the Bank of France. Currently, approximately 45% of Portuguese reserves are in national territory, 48% at the Bank of England and small percentages at the BIS and the Bank of France. Since September 2006, Portugal has not sold gold, which was the last sale carried out under the Central Banks Gold Agreement.
